Friday, January 25, 2019

Luke Dillon - My Irish Ghost

This is the kind of Ghost story that keeps me amused, tales around the campfire alive and some hunters of their family Ghosts perplexed. There is nothing I can prove of this glorious Ghost however, he was (maybe) my 8th Very Great Grandfather, Luke Dillon

Luke was born in Kilkenny in Southeast Ireland in 1691. He was said to have had red hair and was a weaver by trade. He married a girl named Susannah Garrett in 1710 and Hannah was born soon after. In 1713 Luke, his wife, their young daughter and infant son, Daniel who was born at sea arrived in Nantucket.  

1717 we find Luke Dillon and Susannah as weavers in Pennsylvania with their own shop. They have had another son and Susannah is pregnant again. 

 In the late winter of 1717 Luke had spent the day at a mill about 5 miles away and even stopped at a local pub to toss back a few ale with friends. To ward off the cold he made sure his flask was filled before he mounted his horse for the long ride back. 

Luke's horse arrives home alone. A search of the area revealed no sign of Luke that night. The next few days of searching by his family, neighbors and friends uncovered no traces of Luke. The night of his disappearance there had been a blizzard and the snow was deep. About 6 weeks after his disappearance when the snow had melted another search was made for Luke.  His body was found. He was sitting on the ground, his flask in his hand perfectly preserved by the frozen snow that had covered him. Some say he got off his horse to sit a spell and take a drink. Others speculated he fell from his horse and as his horse ran off he just sat there and had a drink as he froze to death. 

This story is told several ways and has been the topic of heated debate. Some say it is not true and that Luke never existed. Some say he was poor others say he was the 4th son of a Noble family. 

This is just one of my Ghosts.  

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